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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. False peace will not ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. last — final
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rest — what's left
  10. last — finally
  11. clip — a video
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rest — a break
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com